It has been almost 6 years since my wife settled in the UK on a spouse visa. We had our one and only child about 6 months later. That little girl has grown very quickly and is now about to attend her first school, so it is new and exciting times for us all. She starts on Monday morning. Up until recently she attended nursery for 3 afternoons per week so she seems to be well primed for the next stage.
A late starter! My older son began attending an International School in Davao at age 4; that's six hours a day for five and a half days a week - but that includes play, rest and meal times. His younger brother started school in Malta on his third birthday; he's there from 8am to 12.30pm, five days a week. The kids are still on holiday here and will be until near the end of September.
Yes they start em early in the RP - both mine started when they were 3 but some of the children in their classes were only 2!
Our daughter starts nursery next week. Just 2 hours, 5 days a week. We've had real difficulty getting School clothes. Most uniform starts at sizes for age 3 to 4, she is 3 but they are hanging off her. The only thing that fits her is an embroided PE polo for ages 1 to 2.
One of the good things about living here (RP) is there are generally two options for uniforms - the local market and the school - and then the local market will always have someone with a sewing machine to adjust or knock up from scratch whatever it is you want!
Yep Pinas great for clothes alterations/designed/made. Had my pants hemmed for 40 pesos, would have been cheaper but it was a rush job
She is 4 now but one of the oldest because of her birthdate being in October when she will be 5. Even though she is bound to outstrip her mom in terms of height she is typically Filipina in build. So she tends to need smaller clothes than average. Time for Mrs B to go out to work.
You have to register with the school of your choice. But may have to meet certain criteria which might include : Catchment area Religion Ability Available places We have just had to go through that. And registered through the local authority website. As far as I can tell you cannot just roll up at the school with the "kid". But it can at the same time amount to a formality. It just depends. Like I said, not a bad idea to establish contact with schools and the local education authority beforehand.
thank you for that input. where we live there are 3 schools he could go to--or academy as the current trendy nonsense calls them. one is on the verge of closing--lack of customers--and a bad reputation. the nearest has a very good ofsted rating ( or whatever its called )...but its over subscribed so i doubt he will get in. the third is the furthest away--but easiest to get to by bus. which ive recently found out means we may well have to pay for if we dont accept the choice we are lumped with. judging by the standard of inglish spoked on the local community facebook sites, most youngsters leave school with lower spelling ability than they started with.
Ha. Yes, these Acadamies crept in a few years ago when my son went to the local Grammar school ( they still have the Grammars in some places ) so I am not familiar with them. If he is just 12 and new to everything here in the UK then distance or ease of getting there might be a concern?
well--yes. my wife dont drive--and i aint getting my ass out of its coccoon on a cold wet winters morning.
My Filipina stepdaughter started school here aged 7 years, and my stepson was 9. They both did extremely well at school... and then at university.
Catchment is certainly very important and secondly if a sibling is already in the school. Applications should be in by the end of January for the start in September, or even August. It depends where the school is and whether the school has a high ofsted score. There are many taxis doing journeys with kids from other catchment areas too.
Talking of the Ofsted scoring. The school our daughter will attend does not have as high Ofsted rating as the nearby alternative. However that nearby alternative is a catholic school and at the time we applied that school was full - no spaces left. Also we did not match their additional religion oriented criteria. However, I satisfied myself that the chosen school was still good enough.
